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Laurie Dippenaar

Banker and entrepreneur

By South African Index Editorial Desk · Published · Updated · Last reviewed

Portrait of Laurie Dippenaar.
Portrait: Freddy Mavunda / Business Day · Source. Resized and converted to WebP for this site.

Laurie Dippenaar helped build the merchant-banking business that developed into FirstRand. The group’s 2018 chairman’s report identifies Ferreira, Dippenaar and Harris as its founding trio. [7]

Biography

RMB traces its precursor business to 1977. Its online history identifies Dippenaar and Ferreira among the original partners, with Harris joining later. The initial partnership and FirstRand’s later founding trio are not the same date-specific group. [1][8]

The three men later became associated with the formation of FirstRand in 1998. A FirstRand chairman’s report describes Dippenaar and Ferreira as founders and Harris as the third member of the founding trio. [2]

Dippenaar later served as chairman of FirstRand and remained part of the group’s leadership after its formation. His career is therefore linked to both RMB’s origin and the later creation of FirstRand. [3][2]

The May 1998 listing particulars identify Dippenaar as FirstRand’s chief executive and executive chairman of its life-assurance group. He later succeeded Ferreira as group chairman in November 2008. [5][6]

Key contributions

Helped establish and develop the business that became RMB before the formation of FirstRand. [1][8]

Helped create and later chair FirstRand. [2][3]

Life and career timeline

  1. Participated in the original partnership of the business that developed into RMB. [8]

  2. Became part of the founding leadership of FirstRand. [2]

  3. Served as FirstRand chairman. [3]

Frequently asked questions

Does FirstRand founder status mean founding FNB or Southern Life?

No. The 1998 merger combined established businesses. The group’s founding trio describes the formation and development of FirstRand. [4][7]

Are the roles described here current appointments?

No. The 1998 and 2009 titles are dated historical roles, not current management positions. [5][6]

Related people

  • GT Ferreira — South African banker and entrepreneur who co-founded the business that became Rand Merchant Bank and later chaired FirstRand.
  • Paul Harris — South African banker and entrepreneur who co-founded the business that became Rand Merchant Bank and was part of FirstRand’s founding trio.

Related institutions and movements

  • First National Bank — FNB is the South African banking division of FirstRand Bank Limited. Its predecessor history is older than the FirstRand group formed in 1998.
  • FirstRand Bank — The South African legal banking subsidiary wholly owned by FirstRand Limited, with separately branded banking operations including FNB and RMB.

Associated organisations

Related research

Sources

  1. Rand Merchant Bank, Sustainability Report 2010: Corporate profile, 2010-06-30. Original source. Accessed 2026-09-25. ↩
  2. FirstRand, Chairman’s report 2018, 2018-06-30. Original source. Accessed 2026-09-25. ↩
  3. FirstRand, Chairman’s statement 2009, 2009-06-30. Original source. Accessed 2026-09-25. ↩
  4. FirstRand, Annual Report 1998: merger rationale, insurance and banking integration. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-16. ↩
  5. FirstRand, via JSE SENS, Revised listing particulars: merger completion and name change, 1998-05-25. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-16. ↩
  6. FirstRand, Chairman’s statement 2009: founders, succession and chairmanship. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-16. ↩
  7. FirstRand, Chairman’s report 2018: founding trio and board retirements. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-16. ↩
  8. Rand Merchant Bank, Our story: early partnership, later arrival of Harris and 1998 formation. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-16. ↩